The complete guide to The Tropic of Capricorn | The Independent News & Advice The complete guide to The Tropic of Capricorn Midwinter in Britain means midsummer in the southern hemisphere. With the sun moving into Capricorn, now is the moment to take off for the summer, along a line that girdles the Earth and marks the boundary between the Tropics and the rest Saturday 23 December 2000 00:00 BST Click to follow Tropic of Capricorn? Where's that? Tropic of Capricorn? Where's that? Parallel with the Equator, but 26? 30" south of it. It is the circle that marks points where the sun is directly overhead at noon on midwinter's day. The name was chosen because the constellation of Capricorn rises above it on the summer solstice. The line passes through Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Australia and French Polynesia, clipping New Caledonia, Fiji, Tonga and the Cook Islands before landfall at Pitcairn. So it's hot then? In general, yes.

The tropics experience little difference between seasons so, between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer (which is an equal distance north of the Equator), life is generally warm and sunny. However, there's a lot more variety here than you might think. The Atacama and Kalahari deserts, the steamy urban frenzy of Rio de Janeiro and the chilly peaks of the Andes mountains all lie beneath the Tropic of Capricorn. And the vast majority of the world's coffee is grown in this region. Where does it start? Strictly speaking, it should be at that other infamous imaginary marker, 0? longitude, but that's somewhere out in the Atlantic Ocean. The first landfall is the desert coast of Namibia, at the Sandwich Harbour. These days it's no longer a harbour. But a fleet of dedicated bird-watchers regularly steer their way here from the capital, Windhoek. This is more than can be said for Martin Luther, an old steam train that lies in ruins stranded in the desert a few miles east of Swakopmund. Not unlike its zealous 16th-century namesake, this train sits passively before God.

And like its locomotive counterpart in Conrad's Heart of Darkness, the train stands as testament to the incompatibility of Africa with the technology that made Europe "great". No water? No wood? No steam. Further on, among the massive dunes of the Namib Desert, the Tropic passes close to Rehoboth, the centre of the Baster community, and to towns constructed in Bavarian style when Namibia was German Southwest Africa. Today they rise from the landscape as absurdly as the succulent plants that somehow thrive in the surrounding sand. What comes next? Cross the border to Botswana and enter the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Two decades of conservation has ensured the survival of many native animal species and, in so doing, has guaranteed plenty of revenue from tourists. The reserve's largely featureless terrain makes this a particularly good location for spotting big cats. On into South Africa, the Tropic crosses the Limpopo River, the great watercourse which rises in the Transvaal and flows through South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The Tropic of Capricorn touches only the tip of South Africa's northernmost province, but that's enough to include the Kruger National Park.

The park is the local tourist industry's equivalent of the crown jewels and a huge variety of game animals are easily seen on conventional tours. However, the boundaries of the park are pretty arbitrary on the ground. Thanks to years of strenuous conservation, elephants are now abundant here and, beyond the park boundaries they've become a bit of a problem, consuming crops, destroying fences and crashing their way through vegetation and trees. In response to this, limited culls have been introduced. Time to move on... Further down the Limpopo, in Mozambique, nature has reimposed itself on the landscape. The ancient kingdom of Gaza was struck by devastating floods in March and environmentalists believe that, ironically, it was the deliberate removal of "fever trees" that brought floods and cholera to the region. Nine out of ten of the people displaced by the deluge have returned to try and reconstruct their lives, but this particular region may not be back on the tourist trail for some time. Where are people going now? A lot of them are heading to Madagascar, which the Tropic of Capricorn bisects. South of it, the country is arid and dry.

This is the home of the baobab, the extraordinary tree that retains water and soil nutrients in its bloated trunk - hence the appearance of having been uprooted and replanted upside-down. Legend has it that a forest of baobabs grew from where the spindly twigs of one giant tree touched the ground at the heart of the forest. Deep in the root structure lurks a giant serpent, which devours the unwary. North of the line the atmosphere grows more turbid and the mangroves deepen. Madagascar is scheduled to be the most cosmic place on Earth on 21 June next year, when the Solstice coincides with a total solar eclipse. What about those tropical paradises? Yes indeed. Just above the line, about 500 miles east of Madagascar, is RÃ©union, every bit your classical tropical idyll, with spectacular beaches, lush forests, an active volcano and swarms of European tourists. Administered and heavily influenced by France, RÃ©union offers a wide range of beach holiday resorts in which to relax. I sense you're holding something back...

Well, the Tamil people of RÃ©union celebrate Temeedee in December, which involves walking on burning embers and piercing themselves in extreme ways. It's an extraordinary show of devotion from a branch of the oldest religion in the world, Hinduism. We owe some of our understanding of the astronomy that defines our Tropic to ancient Hindu Vedic scholars of the Indian subcontinent, the distant ancestors of the Tamils of RÃ©union. It was they who observed in 3200BC that the paths of stars changed in predictable increments. That's enough education. Let's get moving... Passing over the massive potential gas and oil fields of the Indian Ocean, the Tropic of Capricorn makes landfall again in Australia. It breaches the Western Coast between Carnarvon and Exmouth and makes passage through the dry and unremarkable Little Sandy Desert. Into the Northern Territories, it passes over Aboriginal land and runs over the West MacDonnell Ranges close to Alice Springs.

The most isolated town in Australia, Alice is the jumping-off point for visiting Uluru (Ayers Rock), where sun-hatted and fly-netted people squint at the dimple in which the wombat fought the snake spirit way back in the Dreamtime. The Capricorn Highway runs through the interior, uncannily following the precise line of the Tropic, to the coast at Rockhampton. Above a road that is baked and washed regularly by the tropical climate, birds of prey hover at regular intervals, swooping close to passing cars in search of roadkill and the thermals that radiate from the tarmac. In Rockhampton itself, flies crawl up the white tiles of the local hotel-bars while backpackers depart to island hop in the Whitsunday Islands, pick fruit in Bundaberg and visit Great Keppel Island. The South Pacific equals exotic, right? It does in French Polynesia. In 1913 the poet Rupert Brooke observed "In the South Seas, the creator seems to have laid himself out to show what he can do." The cherry on the cocktail here is the island of Bora Bora, with its silver sanded beaches protected by a coral reef lagoon.

Sounds great, when do we get there? We don't - not on this itinerary. Bora Bora is at least 600km north of the Tropic. Instead it passes through the sparsely populated Austral islands. To the north is the Tubai and its reefed lagoon, a tiny outcrop that surely does belong to Tangaora, the god of the sea. The local Kahuna priests drink Kava to stay in touch with the spirits. Kava's relaxing, psychotropic properties have made it a popular drink among locals and visitors alike. If you want to avoid that morning-after sinking feeling bear in mind that the Mangaian folklore of the Austral Islands says that spirits can only ascend to heaven on the solstice, along the Milky Way, the path of transmigrating souls. Wait a minute, this sounds familiar... You're probably thinking of Graham Hancock, whose many books have included Fingerprints of the Gods and Heaven's Mirror, in which he sets out to shift the way we perceive history.

The similarities between the Austral island myths, the Inca Milky Way Spirit Road and the activities of the Vedic scholars in the Indus River Valley, among other examples, are the tiniest echoes (says Hancock) of an ancient global culture. One thing we do know is that humanity arrived in the vicinity of the Austral islands in around 1500BC, from South East Asia and from Indonesia. Their next step, almost two millennia later, was a move to Easter Island, which, funnily enough, is the next destination on the Capricorn trail. But Easter Island is 300km off the Tropic. Can't I go back to Bora Bora? No chance. Easter Island is the aerial junction between Australasia and South America. Take off from here to the Chilean capital, Santiago, and head north to the Tropic. In the area east of Antofagasta, space agencies test lunar landing craft, and enormous telescopes peer up into the sky. As you move towards the Andes, you reach San Pedro de Atacama, a picturesque oasis in the middle of the Atacama desert.

This is the place to stay while visiting the Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos, where three colonies of flamingos breed on a huge salt lake. The town's fascinating museum includes some of the world's best-preserved mummies. Nearby, the El Tatio geysers pump out boiling, mineral-rich water, forming weird crystalline structures as the water evaporates. Hang on. I want tropical beaches, cocktails and 24-hour partying. You only seem interested in giving me a geography lesson... Calm yourself. Skip the arid Gran Chaco of Paraguay and plunge on past Rio de Janeiro, straight into the arms of Brazil's most popular religion, Candomble. At celebrations in late December, bisexual priestesses strut among the faithful on Copacobana, Ipanema and Loblon beaches, smoking cigars and drinking Caipirinhas. This powerful cocktail is mainly Cachaca, a fire water distilled from Brazilian sugar-cane juice. Knock it back it with lime and soda and it'll melt your brain. The hedonistic congregation here worships Iemanja, the goddess of the sea and carnal pleasure.

In Rio you might understand why Henry Miller named his twin erotic books Tropic Of Cancer and Tropic Of Capricorn. Tropic of Capricorn Tropic of Capricorn LINKS WHAT'S NEW? Tropic of Cancer has been released as a DVD boxset. It's available at a discount from Amazon here . The paperback edition of Tropic of Capricorn has been published - click here to get a copy from Amazon at a bargain price. __________________ TROPIC OF CAPRICORN Broadcast from FEBRUARY 10TH - MARCH 2ND 2008 ON BBC2 AT 8PM Daily Telegraph: “spectacular sights…like all the best travellers, Reeve carries out his investigations with infectious relish, and in the realisation that trying to understand the country you’re in is not just fascinating, but also hugely enjoyable.” Buy Simon's latest book from here via Amazon: Short extract from the book: 'There is no ceremony or fanfare to mark our launch, no champagne, flags or bunting, but I say a few words wishing us a safe journey, almost a traveller’s prayer. We finish our picnic, toss a few crusts to the gulls circling outside and start the engines.

Here we go. Deep breaths. We are off. 'Golden sand dunes run right down to the sea just a few miles from the Tropic of Capricorn, and the only way of crossing them is to head inland a few hundred metres and go over the top, one by one. Our drivers, Doug and Jacques, both originally from South Africa, are old hands at travelling through this remote corner of the world, but I still find the dunes intimidating. Initially they rise gently and the Toyota engines purr. Gradually the height increases and the slopes become frighteningly steep, soon they begin to soar. I grip my seat and our engines scream as we battle our way up a dune hill hundreds of metres above sea level. 'We reach the top, balance precariously on the sandy crest and the Namib Desert unfolds before my eyes. I gaze in awe. The landscape of the desert, running 2,000 kilometres from South Africa to Angola, is simply out of this world. Mountainous glowing dunes rise from the very edge of the deep blue Atlantic. Inland, endless ripples of sand snake into the empty distance. I laugh out loud. Any lurking doubts I have about this Capricorn journey evaporate instantly.

From the very beginning this random line has already brought me somewhere ethereally beautiful, somewhere remote I would never normally be able to visit.' Daily Telegraph: “like all the best travellers, Reeve carries out his investigations with infectious relish, and in the realisation that trying to understand the country you’re in is not just fascinating, but also hugely enjoyable.” In this huge challenge, author and broadcaster Simon Reeve set out on a unique journey to track the Tropic of Capricorn around the globe. Motivated by a desire to learn more about forgotten corners of the world, Simon headed east through Africa, Australia and South America, discovering breathtaking sights, strange rituals, desperate poverty and exotic wildlife. For the 22,835-mile Tropic of Capricorn marks the southern border of the tropics, and crosses some of the wildest and most spectacular parts of our planet. This series has a strong current affairs theme, with issues including vanishing forests, poverty, smuggling, threatened whales and a forgotten genocide. But it is also a spectacular travelogue. Simon crossed the Kalahari Desert and the stark Atacama Desert of Chile, perhaps the driest place on Earth.

Following Capricorn took him over hills, across lush valleys, rusting railway lines, dusty roads, between homes and hovels, through farms and villages, to the biggest city in the entire developing world. Prog One: Namibia & Botswana - Feb 10th, 8pm Prog Two: South Africa to Madagascar - Feb 17th, 8pm Prog Three: W.Australia to Queensland - Feb 24th, 8pm Prog Four: Chile to Brazil - March 2nd, 8pm Photos from the first leg of the trip are here Watch the programmes at the BBC Capricorn website Or watch the programmes at this site on Youtube Simon's travel CV at Wanderlust ________________________________________ In this exciting new series, Simon Reeve finds giant rats detecting landmines and is forced to eat penis soup by Madagascan royalty. Simon meets miners scrabbling for gems in dark, dangerous tunnels and the British anthropologist fighting to save forest communities in South America.

He goes hunting with a legendary tribe of former cannibals, struggles the equivalent of half-way up Everest, survives on ‘piss pills’ and coca leaves, eats dried caterpillars, grilled llama, sheep eyes, and searches for wild honey in the forests of northern Argentina. While following Capricorn Simon is surrounded by a pack of hungry cheetahs, finds flamingoes 4km up in the Andes, a pregnant humpback whale off Australia, lemurs in Madagascar and elephants under threat of culling in southern Africa. He witnesses the age-old ceremony that sparks the Holy Fire of the Herero tribe, discovers desperate Zimbabweans jumping razor wire to get into South Africa, meets a traditional healer now becoming part of the Botswanan NHS and is taught to shoot an AK-47 by Afrikaaner farmers. Along Capricorn Simon visits a diamond mine described as the most lucrative hole on the planet, but discovers villagers living in poverty next to luxury hotels, squalor in the shadow of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and bleached coral on the Great Barrier Reef.

He meets the French ‘Catman’ saving cheetahs in Namibia, Chinese businessmen making their fortune in Africa, prostitutes ravaged by AIDS and surviving Bushmen who live deep inside the Kalahari desert alongside their lion ‘cousins’. Next to the worst asbestos-contaminated site in the world Simon finds a devoted couple refusing to leave their home. He travels along Capricorn by van, car, train, boat, horseback, helicopter, plane, and roars through the Australian Outback in a 50-metre-long $1m road train. Simon learns how ‘tavy’ has destroyed the forests of Madagascar, and visits the Great Barrier Reef, the Kruger National Park, and the Iguaï¿½u falls, the most impressive waterfalls in the world.

________________________________________ The start of the Tropic of Capricorn series, broadcast 10 Feb 2008: Trailer for Tropic of Capricorn programme broadcast 10 Feb 2008: CAPRICORN prog one – NAMIBIA AND BOTSWANA (tx 8pm, February 10th 2008): The journey starts in Namibia, on a remote beach in the Namib-Nauklaft National Park, where the Tropic of Capricorn hits Africa. The spectacular desert scenery makes this area, like much of this huge country, a huge draw for adventure tourists. First stop is Swakopmund, Namibia’s second city, a place with strong German connections, where Mein Kampf and photos of Hitler are still on sale in the local curio shop. Namibia used to be a German colony and the country has a dark past: German colonisers killed tens of thousands of locals in a forgotten genocide, which Simon learns about from a local historian whose relatives suffered in German ‘concentration camps’ in Namibia.

Following an amazing encounter with a pack of hungry cheetahs and a French conservationist nicknamed ‘Catman’, Simon arrives in the capital Windhoek, where he meets prostitutes infected with HIV (Namibia has one of the highest infection rates in the world) and witnesses at first hand the growing influence of China in Africa. Travelling across the vast interior of the country Simon meets members of the Herero tribe, goes out on horseback to round-up cattle, and witnesses the Herero Holy Fire ceremony. Moving on to Botswana, Simon finds a country that confounds many of the stereotypes of poor Africa. Well-run, with cattle-patrols that keep stray cows off the roads, Botswana is making a fortune from tourism and a natural resource that never seems to lose its lustre: the world’s largest diamond mine, just south of the Tropic of Capricorn, produces millions of dollars worth of stones every week, funding universal education and extensive healthcare. The mining firm has forked out on anti-AIDS drugs to keep its workforce functioning in a country where HIV rates have rocketed up to 40%. But not all Botswanans are benefiting from the national prosperity.

On the edge of the Kalahari desert many of the legendary San people – also known as the Bushmen of the Kalahari – have been moved out of the desert into depressing resettlement camps by a government that says it wants them to be part of the modern world. The government has provided basic huts and schools for the San, who are among the poorest people in southern Africa, but many of the San are having difficulty adapting to the modern world. In a spectacular journey into the heart of the Kalahari Desert, Simon seeks out the remaining San who are still living in the desert alongside their lion ‘cousins’. Some San have won a legal battle, and plan to return to live in their Kalahari homeland, but as Simon finds out, life can be tough in this beautiful, brutal environment. ________________________________________ Trailer for Tropic of Capricorn programme broadcast 17 Feb 2008: CAPRICORN prog two – S.AFRICA TO MADAGASCAR (tx 8pm, Feb 17th 2008): The second leg of Simon’s journey begins in the northern part of South Africa, a white stronghold during the apartheid era.

Simon meets a group of white Afrikaaner farmers who are armed and ready to defend their land in what feels like an increasingly hostile world. The farmers still own the best land and fear it may one day be taken from them, just like in collapsing Zimbabwe, a short drive to the north. Thousands of Zimbabweans cross illegally into SA every week, fleeing hunger and persecution, and at the border Simon witnesses a dramatic human tragedy as young men struggle past thick rolls of razor wire. Simon then heads-out with the white Afrikaaner farmers, who run vigilante patrols rounding up the Zimbabwean refugees. The Boers catch several young Zimbabwean boys, and hand them over to the police, who will send them home. Heading east along Capricorn, Simon encounters awesome wildlife around the Kruger National Park, where proposals to cull the booming elephant population are causing huge controversy, before he enters Mozambique. This beautiful country is still recovering, 15 years after a brutal civil war. Landmines still litter the country, but Simon encounters an unusual project to clear them quickly using Giant Gambian Pouched Rats, whose keen sense of smell can detect explosives under the ground.

Much of Mozambique’s coast is a tropical paradise, and tourism is a great hope for the economy. But on one island of exclusive “eco tourist” resorts, where Leonardo di Caprio has holidayed, Simon finds locals living in abject poverty. Simon flies across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar, the world’s fourth largest island. After the BBC team’s baggage fails to arrive Simon heads out to explore the capital, Antananarivo, known by all as Tana, a unique blend of African, Indian Ocean, and French colonial influences. In the main market Simon’s guide encourages him to eat zebu penis soup, an acquired taste, before the bags finally arrive and they fly to the remote south of the island. Driving across Madagascar takes Simon across one of the poorest but most beautiful countries in the world. He passes through spiny forest, a unique habitat of giant octopus and baobab trees, learns how ‘tavy’ – a form of slash and burn agriculture – has destroyed up to 90% of Madagascar’s primary forest, then witnesses men crawling through dangerous underground tunnels in search of sapphires. His journey ends after he takes a spectacular train journey through the mountainous highlands to the east coast.

Clips from Tropic of Capricorn programme broadcast 17 Feb 2008: ________________________________________ Trailer for Tropic of Capricorn programme broadcast 24 Feb 2008: CAPRICORN prog three – AUSTRALIA (tx 8pm, February 24th 2008): The Tropic of Capricorn cuts through three country-sized regions of Australia (Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland). the vast wilderness of the Outback. This is not the Australia of Neighbours and Home and Away, it is the heart of Australia, a remote and spectacular place populated by extraordinary people and wildlife – and the scene of some intractable and unexpected social problems. The line hits Western Australia near Ningaloo reef, on the migration route of the mighty humpback whale. Simon witnesses the unforgettable sight of female whales nursing their calves before the long trip south to Antarctica – but discovers their pristine sanctuary may be under threat from plans to build a vast salt pan nearby. Western Australia is rich in natural resources, but this has not always been a blessing. Heading east to beautiful Karijini National Park, Simon arrives in a region with a sinister history.

Nearby Wittenoom Gorge was the location of Australia’s biggest asbestos mine. Thousands have died after working at the mine, and the authorities, believing it is the worst asbestos-contaminated site in the world, are demolishing the nearby town. But a few diehards have refused to leave, including a tough Outback couple determined to stay in the ghost town. Next, Simon hops aboard a three-car road-train which powers its way across the Outback to Newman, site of the world’s largest open-cut mine – which sends millions of tons of ore to fuel China’s booming economy. Newman is attracting workers from across Australia, drawn by huge salaries. This is the last town before the unpopulated deserts of central Australia; Simon’s next stop is Alice Springs, a remote town in the Northern Territory (NT), but also the world centre of Aboriginal art. Many Aboriginal communities in the NT are in a desperate state, wracked by violence, child abuse and poverty. Simon arrives at a crucial moment: a powerful government taskforce has been established to retake control of communities. In the shadow of Uluru/Ayers Rock, Simon discovers third world conditions in an Aboriginal community.

Onwards to Queensland, Simon arrives in cattle-country and stays with a couple whose 183,000 acres have not seen significant rain for seven years – they live in a dustbowl of biblical proportions. Some experts say this is the first time climate change has had a serious impact on a developed country. Simon heads east along Capricorn to stunning Heron Island, home to one of the world’s pre-eminent marine research centres. The island is at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, where Simon learns climate change threatens to wipe out the reef. ________________________________________ CAPRICORN prog four – CHILE to BRAZIL (tx 8pm, March 2nd 2008): Simon Reeve and the team started in Chile and crossed the Atacama Desert, perhaps the driest place on earth (some areas receive just two per cent of the moisture in the Sahara). Guided by a local indigenous leader Simon found a beautiful mountain lake, now threatened by mining development, then crossed the high Andes, more than 4.5km above sea-level, into Argentina.

In the Andean foothills Simon discovered the shy vicuï¿½a, a creature kept and sheared for the finest and softest fibre in the world. Suits made from vicuï¿½a fibre can cost ï¿½15,000. In Argentina Simon met John Palmer, an English anthropologist who studies the Wichï¿½ forest people, and has married into a community. He stayed in a Wichï¿½ community, went hunting for wild honey, and discovered bulldozers using giant chains to log the forests around their village at a terrifying rate. The Wichi community chief told Simon he fears for the future of these ancient forest people. Crossing into mysterious Paraguay, Simon visited a former torture centre in the capital Asunciï¿½n with a doctor who was tortured there when Paraguay was a dictatorship. Simon visited a farming area and learnt Paraguay is riding a soy boom driven by European demand for pig feed and biofuel – a hugely controversial issue. Driving east, Simon arrived in the town of Ciudad del Este, one of the world’s great smuggling centres, and crossed into Brazil just as customs officials arrested a bullet smuggler.

In the same area, Simon visited the beautiful Iguaï¿½u waterfalls, where the extraordinary opening scenes of The Mission were filmed. Simon travelled onwards to Sï¿½o Paulo, and was awed by the biggest city in the developing world. With his dreadlocked guide, Simon saw the wealth of the city, then visited a neighbourhood that used to be the most violent place on the planet, where Simon met and made pizzas with young locals who have escaped gangs and drugs. The journey finished next to a Tropic of Capricorn monument on the coast of Brazil, on December 22nd, 2007, the day of the solstice. ________________________________________ Buy Simon's latest book from here via Amazon: <br /> Silver Award winner at the 2007 Wanderlust Travel Awards This Capricorn journey starts in Namibia, and takes viewers through Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.

Transmission: 4 x 60 minutes on BBC2 Starts: Sunday 10th February @ 8pm Duration: Four weeks Sunday Times: Pick of the Week Sunday Telegraph: Pick of the Week New Statesman: Pick of the Week Daily Mail: “Five Stars…a series that will go down as one of the high points of the television year...brilliant…hugely enjoyable...a fascinating, illuminating journey…much more than a travelogue.

As well as jaw-dropping beauty, we see poverty, smuggling, deforestation, endangered wildlife, widespread HIV, a forgotten genocide… It sounds bleak, but thanks to the informed, inquisitive and genial Reeve, it makes compelling television.” Radio Times: “moving stories and remarkable sights” Time Out: “amusing, disturbing and fascinating…engaging and informative” The Sun: “an epic quest…extraordinary stories” Daily Mirror: “Epic of Capricorn...fun, fascinating and frightening...Simon Reeve would give even Phileas Fogg a run for his money” The Independent: “Reeve is a very likeable travelling partner, with a handy gift for making the locals laugh, and he doesn't skip the awkward stuff” Sunday Express: “heartbreaking natural beauty” Scotland on Sunday: “Armchair travel is seldom so enthralling” Mail on Sunday: “Must-see TV…Five stars…an engrossing trip” Daily Express: “It’s not normally a compliment to say you don’t notice someone, but it’s Simon Reeve’s modesty that makes us focus so much on the journey, with all its highs and lows.

He seems genuinely more interested in what he’s seeing, than being seen on the TV, and that seems to make us watch in a more receptive way.” Metro: “A man with the happy knack of establishing a laid-back rapport with whoever he encountered on the road, Reeve made the ideal travelling companion, a rare example of a TV presenter who doesn’t constantly crave to be the centre of attention.” Financial Times: “Reeve's amiable screen presence somehow makes it all work and suggests that he is indeed Michael Palin's heir apparent.” Wanderlust travel magazine: “a romping good travelogue” The Scotsman: “Tropic Of Capricorn isn't as tepid as most other programmes in the Sunday night travelogue vein, principally because Reeve actually engages with people and issues rather than just pointing at things and gasping. Tropic Of Cancer next then, Simon?” ________________________________ CAPRICORN FACTS: • Capricorn marks the southern border of the Tropics region of the planet, because it is the most southerly point at which the sun can appear to be overhead (during the winter & summer solstice).

• The tropical conditions of the tropics have expanded towards the poles by more than 170 miles over the past 25 years. Scientists expected this, but only under an “extreme” climate change scenario, and only by 2100. • The tropics are mercilessly exposed to the furnace at the heart of our solar system, the region receives a higher dose of the Sun’s energy than the rest of the planet. It is simultaneously the attraction of the tropics to outsiders, and the cause of much of the human suffering in the region. • 75.67% of the Tropic Capricorn passes over sea – mostly the Pacific Ocean. Of the 24.33% that covers land, the country with by far the biggest section is Australia at 2,350 miles. • Over a 41,000 year period Capricorn crawls around in a band between roughly 22.5 and 24.5 degrees. In the year 2000 the line was at 23ï¿½ 26’ 21.448’’.

By 19/11/07 it had moved to 23ï¿½ 26’ 17.76’’ (information courtesy of the team at The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World). • Because Capricorn moves by tiny amounts the length of the line also varies. But on 19/11/07 Capricorn was 36,748,889.697 metres long, or 36,749 km (22,835 miles). ________________________________ South Africa: Holgate Clan is Off Again On Adventure - allAfrica.com South Africa: Holgate Clan is Off Again On Adventure more By Duncan Guy Johannesburg — South Africa's Holgate family, known to millions of television viewers as modern-day African adventurers, depart this week from the Mozambican Coast, following the Tropic of Capricorn around the world. Kingsley Holgate and family, who have become synonymous with modern- day African exploration, are scheduled to start the African leg of an around-the-world expedition along the Tropic of Capricorn this week, commencing at the old Arab town of Inhambane in Mozambique.

Expeditions which Kingsley, his wife Gill and son Ross have under their belts include firsts such as from Cape to Cairo along waterways. All expeditions are well documented on film: the final products have been screened on programmes such as M-Net's Carte Blanche and the National Geographic channel on DSTV. The family would make its way by Land-Rover, on foot and by mountain bike through Mozambique, then across the Kruger National Park, said Holgate before leaving. They will follow the Tropic of Capricorn as closely as possible, but allow for diversions of 50km to the north or south. "We hear the recent rains have caused flooding, with one of the big obstacles being a section of the Limpopo River where there is no bridge. We shall have to float the Land Rovers across and will also face the hazard of free- roaming lions as we cross on foot into the Kruger Park." The expedition was given a grand send-off at the weekend from Shakaland, a Zulu cultural village on the KwaZulu-Natal tourism route, where a sangoma blessed the traditional Zulu "igula", or calabash, that goes with them.

It is always filled with water at the beginning of each journey and emptied at the end. In Africa the Tropic of Capricorn crosses Northern Province, huge tracts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and the Namib Desert in Namibia, touching the Atlantic Ocean near Walvis Bay. In South America the route will take the Holgates through Rio de Janeiro, Paraguay, the Gran Chaco region of Argentina, over the Andes and through the Atacama Desert. The line enters Australia in Queensland and goes across the Simpson Desert, and comes out on the West Australian coast. The other significant land mass the Tropic of Capricorn crosses is Madagascar. Copyright © 2001 Business Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media ( allAfrica.com ). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. AllAfrica publishes around 700 reports a day from more than 140 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals , representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons.

Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica . To address comments or complaints, please Contact us . Tropic of Capricorn book Tropic of Capricorn book Tropic of Capricorn book > TROPIC OF CAPRICORN Daily Telegraph: “spectacular sights…like all the best travellers, Reeve carries out his investigations with infectious relish, and in the realisation that trying to understand the country you’re in is not just fascinating, but also hugely enjoyable.” Buy Simon's latest book from here via Amazon: <br /> <br /> <br /> Short extract from the book: 'There is no ceremony or fanfare to mark our launch, no champagne, flags or bunting, but I say a few words wishing us a safe journey, almost a traveller’s prayer. We finish our picnic, toss a few crusts to the gulls circling outside and start the engines. Here we go. Deep breaths. We are off.

'Golden sand dunes run right down to the sea just a few miles from the Tropic of Capricorn, and the only way of crossing them is to head inland a few hundred metres and go over the top, one by one. Our drivers, Doug and Jacques, both originally from South Africa, are old hands at travelling through this remote corner of the world, but I still find the dunes intimidating. Initially they rise gently and the Toyota engines purr. Gradually the height increases and the slopes become frighteningly steep, soon they begin to soar. I grip my seat and our engines scream as we battle our way up a dune hill hundreds of metres above sea level. 'We reach the top, balance precariously on the sandy crest and the Namib Desert unfolds before my eyes. I gaze in awe. The landscape of the desert, running 2,000 kilometres from South Africa to Angola, is simply out of this world. Mountainous glowing dunes rise from the very edge of the deep blue Atlantic. Inland, endless ripples of sand snake into the empty distance. I laugh out loud. Any lurking doubts I have about this Capricorn journey evaporate instantly.

From the very beginning this random line has already brought me somewhere ethereally beautiful, somewhere remote I would never normally be able to visit.' In his greatest challenge yet, author and broadcaster Simon Reeve sets out on a unique journey to track the Tropic of Capricorn around the globe. Motivated by a desire to learn more about forgotten corners of the world, Simon heads east through Africa, Australia and South America, discovering breathtaking sights, strange rituals, desperate poverty and exotic wildlife. For the 22,835-mile Tropic of Capricorn marks the southern border of the tropics, and crosses some of the wildest and most spectacular parts of our planet. This book and TV series has a strong current affairs theme, with issues including vanishing forests, poverty, smuggling, threatened whales and a forgotten genocide. But it is also a spectacular travelogue. Simon crosses the Kalahari Desert and the stark Atacama Desert of Chile, perhaps the driest place on Earth. Following Capricorn takes him over hills, across lush valleys, rusting railway lines, dusty roads, between homes and hovels, through farms and villages, to the biggest city in the entire developing world.

Photos from the first leg of the trip are here And there's lots more Capricorn pix on Facebook Simon's travel CV at Wanderlust ________________________________________ In this exciting new book and TV series, Simon Reeve finds giant rats detecting landmines and is forced to eat penis soup by Madagascan royalty. Simon meets miners scrabbling for gems in dark, dangerous tunnels and the British anthropologist fighting to save forest communities in South America. He goes hunting with a legendary tribe of former cannibals, struggles the equivalent of half-way up Everest, survives on ‘piss pills’ and coca leaves, eats dried caterpillars, grilled llama, sheep eyes, and searches for wild honey in the forests of northern Argentina. While following Capricorn Simon is surrounded by a pack of hungry cheetahs, finds flamingoes 4km up in the Andes, a pregnant humpback whale off Australia, lemurs in Madagascar and elephants under threat of culling in southern Africa.

He witnesses the age-old ceremony that sparks the Holy Fire of the Herero tribe, discovers desperate Zimbabweans jumping razor wire to get into South Africa, meets a traditional healer now becoming part of the Botswanan NHS and is taught to shoot an AK-47 by Afrikaaner farmers. Simon visits a diamond mine described as the most lucrative hole on the planet, but discovers villagers living in poverty next to luxury hotels, squalor in the shadow of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and bleached coral on the Great Barrier Reef. He meets the French ‘Catman’ saving cheetahs in Namibia, Chinese businessmen making their fortune in Africa, prostitutes ravaged by AIDS and surviving Bushmen who live deep inside the Kalahari desert alongside their lion ‘cousins’. Next to the worst asbestos-contaminated site in the world Simon finds a devoted couple refusing to leave their home. He travels along Capricorn by van, car, train, boat, horseback, helicopter, plane, and roars through the Australian Outback in a 50-metre-long $1m road train.

Simon learns how ‘tavy’ has destroyed the forests of Madagascar, and visits the Great Barrier Reef, the Kruger National Park, and the Iguaï¿½u falls, the most impressive waterfalls in the world. ________________________________________ The start of the Tropic of Capricorn series, broadcast 10 Feb 2008: Trailer for Tropic of Capricorn programme broadcast 10 Feb 2008: The journey starts in Namibia, on a remote beach in the Namib-Nauklaft National Park, where the Tropic of Capricorn hits Africa. The spectacular desert scenery makes this area, like much of this huge country, a huge draw for adventure tourists. First stop is Swakopmund, Namibia’s second city, a place with strong German connections, where Mein Kampf and photos of Hitler are still on sale in the local curio shop. Namibia used to be a German colony and the country has a dark past: German colonisers killed tens of thousands of locals in a forgotten genocide, which Simon learns about from a local historian whose relatives suffered in German ‘concentration camps’ in Namibia.

Following an amazing encounter with a pack of hungry cheetahs and a French conservationist nicknamed ‘Catman’, Simon arrives in the capital Windhoek, where he meets prostitutes infected with HIV (Namibia has one of the highest infection rates in the world) and witnesses at first hand the growing influence of China in Africa. Travelling across the vast interior of the country Simon meets members of the Herero tribe, goes out on horseback to round-up cattle, and witnesses the Herero Holy Fire ceremony. Moving on to Botswana, Simon finds a country that confounds many of the stereotypes of poor Africa. Well-run, with cattle-patrols that keep stray cows off the roads, Botswana is making a fortune from tourism and a natural resource that never seems to lose its lustre: the world’s largest diamond mine, just south of the Tropic of Capricorn, produces millions of dollars worth of stones every week, funding universal education and extensive healthcare. The mining firm has forked out on anti-AIDS drugs to keep its workforce functioning in a country where HIV rates have rocketed up to 40%. But not all Botswanans are benefiting from the national prosperity.

On the edge of the Kalahari desert many of the legendary San people – also known as the Bushmen of the Kalahari – have been moved out of the desert into depressing resettlement camps by a government that says it wants them to be part of the modern world. The government has provided basic huts and schools for the San, who are among the poorest people in southern Africa, but many of the San are having difficulty adapting to the modern world. In a spectacular journey into the heart of the Kalahari Desert, Simon seeks out the remaining San who are still living in the desert alongside their lion ‘cousins’. Some San have won a legal battle, and plan to return to live in their Kalahari homeland, but as Simon finds out, life can be tough in this beautiful, brutal environment. ________________________________________ Trailer for Tropic of Capricorn programme broadcast 17 Feb 2008: The second leg of Simon’s journey begins in the northern part of South Africa, a white stronghold during the apartheid era. Simon meets a group of white Afrikaaner farmers who are armed and ready to defend their land in what feels like an increasingly hostile world.

The farmers still own the best land and fear it may one day be taken from them, just like in collapsing Zimbabwe, a short drive to the north. Thousands of Zimbabweans cross illegally into SA every week, fleeing hunger and persecution, and at the border Simon witnesses a dramatic human tragedy as young men struggle past thick rolls of razor wire. Simon then heads-out with the white Afrikaaner farmers, who run vigilante patrols rounding up the Zimbabwean refugees. The Boers catch several young Zimbabwean boys, and hand them over to the police, who will send them home. Heading east along Capricorn, Simon encounters awesome wildlife around the Kruger National Park, where proposals to cull the booming elephant population are causing huge controversy, before he enters Mozambique. This beautiful country is still recovering, 15 years after a brutal civil war. Landmines still litter the country, but Simon encounters an unusual project to clear them quickly using Giant Gambian Pouched Rats, whose keen sense of smell can detect explosives under the ground. Much of Mozambique’s coast is a tropical paradise, and tourism is a great hope for the economy.

But on one island of exclusive “eco tourist” resorts, where Leonardo di Caprio has holidayed, Simon finds locals living in abject poverty. Simon flies across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar, the world’s fourth largest island. After the BBC team’s baggage fails to arrive Simon heads out to explore the capital, Antananarivo, known by all as Tana, a unique blend of African, Indian Ocean, and French colonial influences. In the main market Simon’s guide encourages him to eat zebu penis soup, an acquired taste, before the bags finally arrive and they fly to the remote south of the island. Driving across Madagascar takes Simon across one of the poorest but most beautiful countries in the world. He passes through spiny forest, a unique habitat of giant octopus and baobab trees, learns how ‘tavy’ – a form of slash and burn agriculture – has destroyed up to 90% of Madagascar’s primary forest, then witnesses men crawling through dangerous underground tunnels in search of sapphires. His journey ends after he takes a spectacular train journey through the mountainous highlands to the east coast.

Clips from Tropic of Capricorn programme broadcast 17 Feb 2008: ________________________________________ Trailer for Tropic of Capricorn programme broadcast 24 Feb 2008: The Tropic of Capricorn cuts through three country-sized regions of Australia (Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland). the vast wilderness of the Outback. This is not the Australia of Neighbours and Home and Away, it is the heart of Australia, a remote and spectacular place populated by extraordinary people and wildlife – and the scene of some intractable and unexpected social problems. The line hits Western Australia near Ningaloo reef, on the migration route of the mighty humpback whale. Simon witnesses the unforgettable sight of female whales nursing their calves before the long trip south to Antarctica – but discovers their pristine sanctuary may be under threat from plans to build a vast salt pan nearby. Western Australia is rich in natural resources, but this has not always been a blessing. Heading east to beautiful Karijini National Park, Simon arrives in a region with a sinister history. Nearby Wittenoom Gorge was the location of Australia’s biggest asbestos mine.

Thousands have died after working at the mine, and the authorities, believing it is the worst asbestos-contaminated site in the world, are demolishing the nearby town. But a few diehards have refused to leave, including a tough Outback couple determined to stay in the ghost town. Next, Simon hops aboard a three-car road-train which powers its way across the Outback to Newman, site of the world’s largest open-cut mine – which sends millions of tons of ore to fuel China’s booming economy. Newman is attracting workers from across Australia, drawn by huge salaries. This is the last town before the unpopulated deserts of central Australia; Simon’s next stop is Alice Springs, a remote town in the Northern Territory (NT), but also the world centre of Aboriginal art. Many Aboriginal communities in the NT are in a desperate state, wracked by violence, child abuse and poverty. Simon arrives at a crucial moment: a powerful government taskforce has been established to retake control of communities. In the shadow of Uluru/Ayers Rock, Simon discovers third world conditions in an Aboriginal community.

Onwards to Queensland, Simon arrives in cattle-country and stays with a couple whose 183,000 acres have not seen significant rain for seven years – they live in a dustbowl of biblical proportions. Some experts say this is the first time climate change has had a serious impact on a developed country. Simon heads east along Capricorn to stunning Heron Island, home to one of the world’s pre-eminent marine research centres. The island is at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, where Simon learns climate change threatens to wipe out the reef. ________________________________________ On the fourth and final leg of his journey, Simon started in Chile and crossed the Atacama Desert, perhaps the driest place on earth (some areas receive just two per cent of the moisture in the Sahara). Guided by a local indigenous leader Simon found a beautiful mountain lake, now threatened by mining development, then crossed the high Andes, more than 4.5km above sea-level, into Argentina. In the Andean foothills Simon discovered the shy vicuï¿½a, a creature kept and sheared for the finest and softest fibre in the world.

Suits made from vicuï¿½a fibre can cost ï¿½15,000. In Argentina Simon met John Palmer, an English anthropologist who studies the Wichï¿½ forest people, and has married into a community. He stayed in a Wichï¿½ community, went hunting for wild honey, and discovered bulldozers using giant chains to log the forests around their village at a terrifying rate. The Wichi community chief told Simon he fears for the future of these ancient forest people. Crossing into mysterious Paraguay, Simon visited a former torture centre in the capital Asunciï¿½n with a doctor who was tortured there when Paraguay was a dictatorship. Simon visited a farming area and learnt Paraguay is riding a soy boom driven by European demand for pig feed and biofuel – a hugely controversial issue. Driving east, Simon arrived in the town of Ciudad del Este, one of the world’s great smuggling centres, and crossed into Brazil just as customs officials arrested a bullet smuggler. In the same area, Simon visited the beautiful Iguaï¿½u waterfalls, where the extraordinary opening scenes of The Mission were filmed.

Simon travelled onwards to Sï¿½o Paulo, and was awed by the biggest city in the developing world. With his dreadlocked guide, Simon saw the wealth of the city, then visited a neighbourhood that used to be the most violent place on the planet, where Simon met and made pizzas with young locals who have escaped gangs and drugs. The journey finished next to a Tropic of Capricorn monument on the coast of Brazil, on December 22nd, the day of the solstice. ________________________________________ Buy Simon's latest book from here via Amazon: <br />

Question: The Tropic of Capricorn crosses the Atlantic coast of Africa in which country?
Answer: NAMIBIA